


Boy's will be bugs

by toffles



Category: Mumintroll | Moomins Series - Tove Jansson
Genre: First Kiss, M/M, Mutual Pining
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-27
Updated: 2019-04-04
Packaged: 2019-12-25 10:50:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,786
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18259766
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/toffles/pseuds/toffles
Summary: “I’ll be back before you wake up, I promise,” Snufkin assured him, looking back and seeing that Moomintroll’s face was showing one of doubt and disbelief.  He took up one of Moomin’s paw in his own and put the other on his face, “Moomintroll, I can promise you that it will be like I was just gone for a few hours, you’ll hibernate and then I’ll be back right as you wake up.  I promise that, and you know I will keep my promise.” Snufkin said in a soothing tone, giving a bittersweet smile when Moomintroll nodded and wiped his eyes.





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everyone! This is my first ever fic but I hope you will enjoy it! It's really just an excuse to be the Moomin fic writer I wish to see in the world. (I have re-written chapter 1 working on chapters 2&3 and I posted the updated versions on 5/19/19!)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “See you in spring, Snufkin.” Moomintroll waved at him as Snufkin turned and began walking away from the bridge and away from Moomin. With every step, his heart ached and when he got to the edge of the woods he turned around to get one last look over Moominvalley. When he did he saw Moomintroll go into his house and he felt a tear roll down his cheek, he wiped it away and turned back around, getting ready to begin his trip down south with a hole in his heart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (This isn't the original chapter I posted the re-written chapter on 5/19/19)

_ It was already snowing by the time Moomintroll ran up to Snufkin while he stood on the bridge, ready to say his goodbye with tears in his eyes.  They stood there for what felt like an eternity, staring at each other, before Moomintroll spoke up. _

 

_ “It’s time for you to leave already.” _

 

_ Snufkin looked away to avoid seeing Moomin’s teary eyes, “I’m afraid so.” was all he was able to get out without letting his emotions show.  This year’s goodbye seemed harder than the last, and he knew if he saw Moomintroll cry it would make the departure even harder. _

 

_ “When will you be back?” _

 

_ “I’ll be back before you wake up, I promise,” Snufkin assured him, looking back and seeing that Moomintroll’s face was showing one of doubt and disbelief.  He took up one of Moomin’s paw in his own and put the other on his face, “Moomintroll, I can promise you that it will be like I was just gone for a few hours, you’ll hibernate and then I’ll be back right as you wake up.  I promise that, and you know I will keep my promise.” Snufkin said in a soothing tone, giving a bittersweet smile when Moomintroll nodded and wiped his eyes. _

 

_ Snufkin smiled at him gently, giving his paw a squeeze before dropping it.  “See you in Spring, Moomintroll.” _

 

_ “See you in spring, Snufkin.” Moomintroll waved at him as Snufkin turned and began walking away from the bridge and away from Moomin.  With every step, his heart ached and when he got to the edge of the woods he turned around to get one last look over Moominvalley. When he did he saw Moomintroll go into his house and he felt a tear roll down his cheek, he wiped it away and turned back around, getting ready to begin his trip down south with a hole in his heart. _

 

The trip got easier as the days went, as long as he didn’t think about Moomin alone on the bridge and instead thought about all the happy times in the summer and fall.  There were nights where he was up thinking about how Moomintroll would feel if he didn’t make it back on time if he didn’t make it back at all if he broke his promise, but he pushed them aside.  It was only about halfway back to Moominvalley when he realized that with each step he was getting more excited than he would have last year.

 

He pushed why that might be aside and instead focused on getting back on time, which he did.  He had set his tent up before he decided to sit on the bridge and watched for any sign of movement from Moominhouse that would mean he should start playing his harmonica.  Eventually, that sign came when he saw the curtains shift in Moominpappas and Moominmammas room. He did his best to keep his tail twitching from anticipation, watching from the corner of his eye for Moointroll to come out and running towards the bridge.  Eventually, he saw Moomintroll come down from his window, only ceasing to play when Moomin made it to the start of the bridge.

 

“Snufkin!  You made it back on time!” Moomintroll sat down beside him, a huge grin on his face.

 

“Well I said I would, and I made sure I kept it.”

 

“Have any interesting stories from your trip down south?”

 

“Hm, we can discuss that tonight, for now, I want to make plans for an adventure we can have after I say hello to Moominmamma and Moominpappa so we can celebrate spring.”

 

“She was making coffee when I left, do you want to have some while you say hi?”

 

“I would love that,” Snufkin answered, standing up and holding out his paw for Moomintroll to take, “I bet Little My is already at your house.”.

 

He didn’t bother to drop Moomintroll’s paw after helping him up, instead opting to walk on, just enjoying his company.

 

When they did make it to Moominhouse, Little My was sitting on the veranda, appearing to have been waiting for them.  She saw them coming and she went inside, not bothering to shut the door. Snufkin shot Moomintroll a look and he just shrugged in response, dropping his paw and walking ahead of him.  Snufkin wouldn’t admit it but he was disappointed when Moomintroll dropped his hand and followed after him.

 

“Snufkin, I didn’t expect you to be back so soon, how were your travels?” Moominmamma sounded shocked, setting coffee down in front of Little My and Moomintroll.  “I’ll get you a cup if you want it.”

 

“They were very interesting, not much interesting happened, and that would be lovely, Moominmamma.” Snufkin sat down at the table after shutting the door behind him, Little My now taking the opportunity to talk to him.

 

“So, Snufkin, do you wanna know a secret?”

 

“No..?” He gave her a quizzical look.  Not really knowing how to respond, considering he didn’t even know what kind of secret it would be.

 

“Good because I wouldn’t tell you anyway.  I’m bound to secrecy.” Snufkin rolled his eyes and then thanked Moominmamma when she gave him his cup of coffee.

 

As they planned, Little My watched them intently, only speaking up to point out some dumb ideas they shouldn’t do.  Eventually, they were done and Snufkin took the cups to the kitchen for Moominmamma. When he came back out Little My was standing on the table and crossing her arms, Moomintroll already outside and waiting.

 

“So do I get to come with you guys?”

 

Snufkin thought for a moment before shaking his head, “No, it’s just us trip for today so we can celebrate the first day of spring.”.

 

When Little My heard that she got a gleam in her eye and nodded, “Oh well, we’ll just have to do something later.”.

 

Snufkin nodded and turned to leave the house, his paw already on the door when Little My called something after him.

 

“Have fun with your  _ kha'ver _ , Snufkin!”

 

He felt his face heat up and he mumbled out an ‘Alte Makhsheyfe’ under his breath as he walked out of the house not wanting to put up with her teasing, barely managing to come up with an excuse when Moomintroll asked why his face was so red.

 

\-----

 

After their adventure plus catching up with Sniff and Snorkmaiden, and Moomintroll had gone home to eat, they were sitting by Snufkin’s tent.  The silence was comfortable as Snufkin was polishing his harmonica while Moomintroll watched the fire. Snufkin noticed that Moomintroll looked distant and a little sad as he watched the fire, putting his harmonica in his pocket so he could move to be right next to Moomin.

 

“Is something on your mind, Moomintroll?”

 

“I was just thinking about what today would have gone like if you had been late.  I just always worry about what if something went wrong while you were down south.” Moomintroll wiped a tear from his eye and Snfukin felt his heartbreak.  He put his paw on Moomintroll’s and looked into his eyes which were filling with tears.

 

“You know I wouldn’t have lied to you about that Moomintroll.  I thought about you every day while I was gone. This,” he gestured to the general valley around him with his free hand, “is the highlight of my spring.  Especially when I look forward and think about all the fun stuff we get to do together. I won’t let anything happen that would cause me to be able to miss out on spring and summer with-” he stopped himself before he said something he would regret and let out a breath.  “I would never miss out on my time here in Moominvalley, Moomintroll. I can promise you that.”

 

Moomintroll nodded, wiping his eyes and Snufkin removed his paw not wanting to make things awkward, “Thanks Snufkin, I appreciate you cheering me up.  Sorry for crying on your first day back.” he wiped his eyes and then looked up at the stars. They sat there for what felt like hours, in comfortable silence, watching the sky together.  Eventually, Moomintroll yawned and he stood up, stretching his arms.

 

“Time for you to go to bed?”

 

“Yeah, want to hang out before I have to go help Mamma in the garden tomorrow?”

 

“That sounds great, Moomintroll.  Goodnight.” Snufkin took off his smock and began to fold it up, smiling at Moomintroll.

 

“Goodnight, Snufkin.” Moomintroll waved goodbye, turning and walking towards that bridge.  Leaving Snufkin to put his smock in his pack and crawl into his tent, smiling at the thought of spending time with Moomin tomorrow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feel free to follow me on tumblr! I'm thetoffle!


	2. Chapter Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _“How about you talk about the stars! It’s been a while since I’ve heard anything about that.” Moomintroll gestures to the sky, even if there were no stars out he knew Snufkin would enjoy talking about them. Snufkin smiled at that and rested his chin on his paw, tail slowly swishing back and forth as he thought about where to start._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoy this chapter I basically just used it to assert the fact the I see Snufkin as autistic!  
> (Edit: Idk if anybody had any questions about this but I'm autistic and I'm basing Snufkins autism experience as my own! I'm not some random NT who just kind of decided to say a character was autistic)

The following days were normal, well as normal as it could be in Moominvalley, and everyday Moomintroll and Snufkin would sneak off to talk about random things, whether it be a thing that happened on Snufkin’s trip or old adventures they went on or rambling to each other about things they found interesting. Currently, the two were sitting on a rock on the beach, talking about the summer they found the island filled with hattifattners on it.

“I’m still not over how we didn’t realize that if Mr. Hemulen had the barometer that means they didn’t,” He thought out loud as he moved to sit cross-legged, “and who knew without it they would get angry and zap Snorkmaidens hair off in the process,” Snufkin added, sitting cross-legged and resting his chin on his hands. Moomin snorted at the memory of that and it filled Snufkins heart with joy when he heard it, pretending to notice something else on the other side of the beach so Moomin didn’t see his red face.

“You know Snufkin, you never really talk about your interests anymore. Anything you find interesting recently?” Moomin asks, raising an eyebrow and tilting his head. Snufkin opens his mouth to try to get out of it but the way Moomin looks at him makes him stop. His tail twitches as he looks down, last time he talked about anything he liked he couldn’t stop himself and Moomin didn’t get a word in the entire night but just as he was about to once again try to get out of it Moomin looked at him with such hope in his eyes he couldn’t bring himself to do it.

“Well I don’t really know Moomin, what do you want to hear?” He sighed, giving in to the unrelenting stare of Moomin who grinned super wide at that.

“How about you talk about the stars! It’s been a while since I’ve heard anything about that.” Moomin gestures to the sky, even if there were no stars out he knew Snufkin would enjoy talking about them. Snufkin smiled at that and rested his chin on his paw, tail slowly swishing back and forth as he thought about where to start.

“Did I ever tell you about the time I saw the constellation Andromeda and the story behind it?” He looked at Moomin who shook his head, looking at him excitedly, that made Snufkin laugh. “Well I saw it just last year on my way back to Moominvalley, it was just as I was about to turn into my tent for the night. Andromeda is also referred to as The Chained Maiden and came from a land far from here. She was sacrificed to stop a monster from the sea,” He gestured to the ocean, “from destroying her homeland. It’s a very sad story but she was remembered by being put into the stars. Another constellation I saw was Apus, based off of a bird of paradise, I’m sure we will see that one this year as I saw it about three years ago and it's rumored to show up every four years. Oh, and how could-” Snufkin stopped himself when he heard himself going into a ramble, face going red, “Oh I’m sorry Moomin I was going into a ramble wasn’t I?” he grumbled and covering his face with his hat. 

Moomintroll frowned and reached over to touch Snufkin’s shoulder, “Oh Snufkin, you know you don’t have to worry about rambling when we’re talking. I love hearing about your interests and as long as you let me ramble why should I stop you?” Snufkin just sighed and put his hat back on looking at Moomin with a small smile.

“Moomin what did I ever do to deserve a friend like you?” He asked softly, putting his paw on Moomin’s and holding it. Moomin’s face flushed and he laughed, knocking the brim of Snufkin’s hat causing it to fall in his eyes.

“Where were you at before you cut yourself off?” Moomin changed the topic, laughing as Snufkin reached up with his free paw to adjust his hat.

“Well I was just about to tell you about the constellation Cassiopeia, the Queen, she’s said to be the mother of the girl from the constellation Andromeda. She’s the one who angered the god who sent the sea monster that killed her daughter. There are really a ton of tragedies in the constellations now that I think about it.” He frowned, trying to think of a happier constellation so he didn’t make Moomin sad. Moomin let out a soft hum, looking down to the ocean crashing on the rocks.

“You know Snufkin, I like when you talk about your interests, makes me realize how much knowledge you keep to yourself.” He thinks out loud, looking over to him. Snufkin flushes and looks to the beach, watching the tide going in and out.

“It’s not like I know a lot about a ton of things, Moomin. I just look for stuff that I really like, constellations are just one of the few things I find interesting.” He responds, looking back over to the troll who gave him a look that basically said ‘Oh what else do you know’ and Snufkin sighed in defeat. “I know quite a bit about plants and bird, and I’m trying to learn more about the different types of insects there are.” Snufkin reached into his smock pocket and pulled out a small glass jar with a type of beetle in it.

“Like these guys, I want to ask Mr. Hemulen what type of beetle this is so I can do more research on my own. There are so many different types of beetles just like there are so many types of butterflies here in Moominvalley. I caught this guy just outside of Moominvalley on my trek back this year.” He then gently put the jar back in his pocket just in time as suddenly he and Moomin were startled by Little My hopping up onto the rock.

“There you are! Moominmamma sent me to find you two so we could help her in the garden.” She stated, going to grab Snufkin and pull him up but stopping when she saw that one of his paws was holding Moomin’s. “Wow Moomin what is Snorkmaiden gonna think?” She teased, causing them both to pull their hands apart quickly and standing up.

“Nevermind that Little My, what does Moominmamma need our help with specifically?” Snufkin brushed his coat off as he shot her a quizzical look, beginning to walk down the rock face.

“Well you see, she needs help planting the asparagus and the raspberries, normal things ya know.” She responded as bounded ahead, running towards Moominhouse, leaving both Moomin and Snufkin behind in her wake.

“You said you knew about plant’s, right Snufkin? What's your favorite?” Moomin asked, walking up beside Snufkin and watching as the Moominhouse got closer into view.

“Oh, it’s pretty boring, just plain old rosemary. It’s known to be one of the most flavorable common herbs around Moominvalley.” Snufkin answered with a shrug, walking up to the door of Moominhouse that was open due to the spring cleaning Moominmamma was still doing.

“Oh, thank goodness Little My found you two! I’ve been so busy tidying up the house I just wanted to ask if you two could do some planting for me?” Moominmamma fussed, stopping her sweeping to look at the two.

“Oh, sure it’ll be no problem, mamma!” Moomin responded, beaming at his mom and looking over to Snufkin who nodded along. Snufkin went to leave but when Moomin didn’t follow he raised an eyebrow, “I’ll be out in a second Snufkin I just want to ask mamma a question.” was Moomin’s response as he followed his mom into the kitchen leaving Snufkin to go to the garden alone.

“Hey mamma, do you think I could grow some rosemary in my room?” Moomintroll asked as his mother busied herself sweeping the kitchen floor.

“I guess so Moomin, why do you want to grow it?” She handed him the dustbin to help her get the dust in the garbage bin.

“Well, you see Snufkin said it was one of his favorite plants and-” He stopped when Moominmamma got a knowing glint in her eye and she sighed.

“Sure thing dear, we can wait for tomorrow morning so he won’t know.” She smiled, leaving him to respond with an ‘okay!’ as he left to go help Snufkin in the garden. “Oh, those two and their silly antics.” She mumbled to herself, thinking back to a time where Moominpappa and herself were like that.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Snufkin sat on the Moominhouses’ porch playing his harmonica while Moomin layed in the hammock his father used when he wasn’t writing his memoir, they had finished their work just an hour earlier and were taking it easy before dinner was done. The peace was nice and was uninterrupted until Little My and Moominmamma opened the door to let them know dinner was done.

“Can I eat my dinner out here Mamma?” Moomin asked, sitting up and looking over to where Snufkin was sitting at the table. Moominmamma nodded and walked back inside just leaving him, Snufkin, and Little My on the porch. The aforementioned Little My hopped up onto the table and looked between Snufkin and Moomin.

“You two have been acting strange lately and I intend to get to the bottom of it!” She crossed her arms and put her nose in the air, causing Snufkin and Moomin to exchange weird glances as Moomin sat down at the table they had out there. Moominmamma came out and after shooing Little My off the table, setting food and tea down for them to eat and drink, she exited but not before telling Moomin he was in charge of cleaning up the porch.

“I have no idea what you mean Little My, you must be seeing things.” Snufkin responded taking a sip of his tea, hoping she didn’t notice his tail twitching anxiously. She huffed and didn’t say anything, deciding to eat instead of bothering them. It went on like that until they were done and the sun was beginning to set.

That was when Little My decided to continue her bombardment, “Oh stop acting you two, I noticed you holding hands and you never want to sit out here! What on earth is going on?” she crossed her arms and looked pointedly at Moomin who’s face went red as he looked away.

“Oh come on Little My just leave it alone for tonight, we aren’t acting anything different than normal. You are just seeing things!” Moomin grumbled, standing up and starting to gather up the dishes from the table before promptly going inside leaving Snufkin to stare after him.

“So what is going on, Snufkin? You usually want to do your own thing after spending so much time with another person but you’ve spent every single day back with him.” She accused, pointing a finger at him as she hopped on the table and got really in his face.

Snufkin rolled his eyes and looked away, “Sometimes someone just misses their friend’s Little My, are you just jealous I didn’t tell you my ‘not appropriate for children’ travel tales?” he asked, looking back at her causing her to glare.

“No way! You guys are just weird!” She retorted, hopping down from the table and making her way to stairs, “I’ll see you tomorrow Snufkin, don’t forget you promised to take me somewhere cool!” she yelled as she ran down the bath. Snufkin sighed and looked over at the door as it opened and Moomin walked out, watching him as he looked for Little My.

“Oh she left, saying she had to rest to get ready for me to take her somewhere cool, but I never promised her such a thing.” He crossed his arms and took his hat off, looking to where she had disappeared to.

“Well, I guess it's for the best, mamma wants me to help her with something in the morning.” Moomintroll went and sat next to Snufkin, taking his hat and putting it on with a smile. Snufkin laughed and rolled his eyes, gently pushing Moomins shoulders. For a while they just say in comfortable silence, watching the sun finally set.

“If I have to take Little My ‘somewhere cool’ I better get heading to bed.” Snufkin sighed, getting up and grabbing his hat from Moomin’s head with a smile. “Goodnight Moomin, I’ll see you as soon as Little My lets me.” he waves and begins to leave.

“Wait Snufkin, can you wait till I come and find you instead of you coming to find me?” He asked, watching as Snufkin gave him a puzzled look before nodding.

Snufkin turned to leave but not before saying, “Goodnight again Moomin, I’ll see you when you find me.” and with that, he was gone. Leaving Moomin to think about all the things he could do with Snufkin tomorrow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feel free to follow me on [Tumblr](http:/thetoffle.tumblr.com) for updates or just to chat!


	3. Chapter Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _Snufkin hummed in agreement and was about to say something before Little My spoke up, “Hey can we go do another crime?”_
> 
>  
> 
> _"Now why would you want to do something like that, My?”_
> 
>  
> 
> _“Well, the last one was so fun how could I not want to do another crime!”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (EDIT) It's gonna be a chapter every other week/every three weeks so I don't have to put a super tight pressure on myself and so I don't get burned out. However, I have had a while to get this next chapter so I hope it will be alright, hope it can be up by Wednesday!

Little My had taken it upon herself to wake him up just an hour after dawn to go on their adventure, giving him no time to try to think of a ‘cool’ place to take her.  Not knowing how long it would take for Moomintroll to come to find get him, he packed up his pack with food and utensils for Little My and him, and while he packed Little My sat near the river and watched the water rush by.  They sat and ‘packed’ in comfortable silence and after a while, they were all set to go.

 

“So, Little My, I was thinking we would just set off in one direction in the forest and see where it goes from there, what do you think?” Snufkin asked as he put his pack on and started walking, Little My close behind.  

 

She tapped her chin in thought for a moment, “Yeah sure as long as it isn’t boring I’m sure it’ll be fine.” nodding as she spoke.  Snufkin hummed in agreement and was about to say something before Little My spoke up, “Hey can we go do another crime?”

 

“Now why would you want to do something like that, My?”

 

“Well, the last one was so fun how could I _not_ want to do another crime!” She jumped in front of him, crossing her arms.

 

“I don’t really have anything we can do, My.  If you can think of something we sure can.” He moved around her, continuing to walk and she followed in a huff.

 

“Hm, well I’ll get back to you on that one, but be ready.”

 

“Okay, but no fire gets to be involved.” The response earns a groan from Little My and Snufkin grins, stopping to look at a bug he saw crawling by.  It looked to be a mantis of some kind, one he’d never seen before, so he decided to capture it with one of his empty jars. After everything had been caught he gestured for Little My to come over.  “Isn’t this cool, My?”

 

“Well I guess it could be, looks like a regular mantis to me.”

 

“It’s not just a regular mantis, its one that I’ve never seen before and I’ve seen everything.” Snufkin put the jar in his bag, turning to face Little My fully.

 

“You can’t possibly have seen everything, Snufkin.  Have you ever seen one of those black and white ants?”

 

‘Well, no, but-”

 

“Exactly!  You haven’t seen everything, but I have seen one ant you haven’t.” She ended smugly tugging on Snufkin’s sleeve so he would continue to walk.  He sighed and followed along, walking in comfortable silence with her until Little My wandered off to the side of the path leaving him to stop and look at her as she stopped to grab something on the ground.

 

“My, what are you doing?”

 

“Don’t worry about it!”

 

“Well, I _am_ worrying.”

 

“Not my fault.” She started walking back with her hands cupped together, leaving Snufkin even more confused until she opened her hand and revealed a small toad.  “Do you have any extra jars? I want to keep this guy.” doing her best to gesture to his pack. He nodded and took one out, opening it up and holding it so she could put it in.  After closing the lid, he handed it to her and she beamed.

 

Once they started walking he looked at her and decided to ask a question, “Are you gonna start collecting toads and frogs?”

 

“Well you collect something so why shouldn’t I?”

 

“Fair enough, just as long as you don’t keep them in those small jars.  If you want I can show you how to take care of them.” He looked over and saw her nod.  With that, the conversation ended and they both were on the lookout for different things that would seem like a cool place to explore.  Eventually, Snufkin spotted an area of the forest he never thought to explore and decided that would seem like a good place to start.

 

“Hey how about they go over and explore there?” He gestured to the area.

 

“Doesn’t look all that exciting.” She stopped and looked over.

 

“We can’t always judge on appearances.”

 

“Don’t get all deep with me Snufkin, you promised a cool place.”

 

“You never know, there could always be a crime to commit over there.”

 

“Hm…….I guess that could be true, however, if there is no crime or if there isn’t anything cool I will make you do this again tomorrow and the day after that, and until winter if we have to.”

 

“Alright then, but I can’t promise I can stand you for several days on end like that.” He teased, beginning the walk into the unknown forest.

 

“Likewise, Snufkin.” She mocked right back, taking charge once again.

 

It ended up takin till a little afternoon for them to find anything exciting, Snufkin didn’t find it, Little My did, Snufkin had just set up to make some lunch very fast when he heard Little My calling his name from a few yards into the forest.  In a moment of panic, he dropped the sticks he had gathered for the fire and ran to her, letting out a sigh of relief when he saw she was just looking under a log.

 

“What is it Little My?”

 

“This trip was a success I found a key!” She proudly held up said key, “Which means there _has_ to be a chest somewhere here.”

 

“Which we can look for on a different day, it’s past noon and I have to ask Mr. Hemulen about some bugs of mine, and you can ask him about your toad.”

 

“You promise we can look for it in a few days?” She held out her pinkie finger for a pinkie swear.

 

“I promise.” He linked his pinkie with hers and with that it was settled.  In a few days, they would return again to look for the box or lock that the key belonged to.  “Now let’s get back to where I set the pack so we can eat and get to Mr. Hemulen’s.” Little My nodded and walked back to the ‘campsite’

 

\----------------------------------------

 

Snufkin would have guessed that without all the detours and searching for cool things, they made it to Mr. Hemulen’s in about 3 and a half hours.  Perfect timing because Mr. Hemulen had just stepped out to look for flower specimens.

 

“Mr. Hemulen!  I’m glad you’re out here I was hoping you could help me identify some bugs?” Little My coughed next to him and he sighed, “Also Little My want’s your help to identify a toad of her’s.” he finishes, Little My proudly holding up her jar.

 

“Oh yes, of course, Snufkin.  How is your collection going?”

 

“Better than I thought, it’s good that I travel every winter so I can collect more than what’s in Moominvalley.” He put down his pack and started pulling out a few jars, Mr. Hemulen picked one up and held his magnifying glass.

 

“Where did you find this one Snufkin?  It’s very marvelous!”

 

“My and I found that one on our way to explore some forest, it caught my eye due to how it’s colored.”

 

“Well, it’s a very rare flower mantis!  Better not let that one go.” He set the jar down and picked up another one, looking through them one by one until he got to the beetle he found just outside of Moominvalley.

 

“Oh I’ve seen this one around before in some grass patches, it’s a lawn beetle.” He set the jar down and looked over to Little My who had taken to tapping the glass of the jar, “What do you have here Little My?”

 

“It’s a toad!  I decided to start collecting things just like Snufkin,” She hands over the jar and then taps her chin for a second before adding, “that and I just really think toads are neat.”

 

Mr. Hemulen nodded and looked at it with a magnifying glass, “Well this sure is an interesting one, Little My, very interesting indeed.” he took a pause, “It looks like this is a yellow-bellied toad.”

 

“Woah!  Snufkin did you hear that!  I have a yellow-bellied toad!” She grabs the jar back and holds it up proudly, a smile on her face.

 

“Yes I heard, are you ready to learn how to keep them?”

 

“You bet I am!” She began to jump up and down, tugging his smock so he would follow her to the river.

 

“Now hold on a second, My.  I have to pack up my bugs!”

 

“Fine but you better hurry.” She grumbled and watched as he started to carefully put his bugs back in his pack, smiling when she received a thumbs up that they were ready to go.

 

They walked to the river and Snufkin began to explain that if she caught a frog near the river what things she would need and how to collect it, “However since you caught yourself a toad all we really need is some soil and rocks to start,” he took out a few new jars and began filling them with a little bit of mud and a ton of dirt, making sure that if there were worms they stayed, “for rocks you want small ones and some big ones so you can build things for it to do.” he pointed out a few that she could grab.  She nodded, paying attention and grabbing some of the ones he pointed out and other’s that she thought looked neat. “Good, now all we need is a big bowl and some wood,” He tapped his chin trying to think of something, “I might not have anything like that but Moominmamma might.” he looked over as he shoved the closed jars of dirt in his pockets.

 

“How big does it have to be?”

 

“The bowl should be about as big as from my elbow to my wrist,” He uncovered his arm a little and showed her, “Since it will most likely be shallow we want to use the wood to make it taller so he can’t hop out.” she nodded and went to grab his arm so he would follow but he shook his head.  “I am gonna go collect the wood we’ll need for the bowl, I believe you can grab it yourself, My?” He phrased the end like a question and Little My nodded.

 

“Better not have run off when I get back, Snufkin!”

 

“I promise I won’t, My.” He called after as she ran towards Moominhouse and after he saw her disappear over the bridge he stood up and walked to the forest to find bark he could use to keep Little My’s toad safe.  It took about ten minutes but he found some, and by the time he made it back to the river Little My was already there watched her toad in its jar.

 

“There you are!  Is this big enough?” She held up a bowl wider than she was and he nodded, doing his best to give a thumbs up while he was holding the bark.

 

“You ready to string the home for him together?”

 

Little My nodded, setting the bowl back on the ground and watching as Snufkin got everything ready for the toad’s new home, “First things first we have to set up the tree bark around the edge.” he grabbed some string from his pack and had Little My help him hold the bark in place as he tied it.  “After that, we need to take this dirt,” He picked up one of the jars and took the cover off, “and mix it all together.” he demonstrated by dumping it in. After a few minutes, it was filled to the edge of the bowl and mixed together, “now _you_ get to design some rock things for your toad to climb on.” gesturing to the pile she had made.  Little My nodded and began to set up the rocks, brushing her hands off on her smock when she was satisfied.

 

“Can I put him in?”

 

“It’s all yours now My, so go ahead.”

 

He watched as she took the cover off her jar and pick the toad up, putting him in the new habitat.  After a little while of watching him, she spoke up, “I think I’m gonna name him Popper.”

 

“Where did you get that name?”

 

“I don’t know, just seems like a name for a yellow-bellied toad.”

 

“Well I guess that does make sense, how are you gonna keep getting the supplies to keep these guys?  Gonna learn how to make your own bowls?”

 

“I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it, for now, I’m just enjoying Popper.”

 

Snufkin was going to ask her how she planned to get it home until he heard Moomintroll’s voice and his heart started to beat uncontrollably.  It felt like a piece of him he didn’t know he was missing had returned when he saw the troll making his way to him, a huge smile on his face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feel free to check out my [tumblr!](http://cupheaignea.tumblr.com) I post stupid things about the chapter and its just general un-organized mayhem over there. Fun fact: the way Snufkin teaches Little My to keep her toad is how my brother and I did it when we were younger, super extra but also super fun so I thought I'd sprinkle in some of my childhood memories in there just for fun. Hope to make more Little My & Snufkin chapters because I just love their dynamic.

**Author's Note:**

> Feel free to check out my [Tumblr](http://thetoffle.tumblr.com)


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